To me, volunteering means having the opportunity to build on a
myriad of new skills, make new friends, gain valuable industry
connections and above all, have fun. I have been a volunteer with
Xplode for almost three years and in that time have gone from
studying media in college to gaining full-time employment in the
sector, and I cannot thank Xplode enough for giving me that ďŹ rst

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

seed of inspiration and belief that I can achieve my dream of
working in media.
- Lydia G

Structure, governance
and management
GOVERNING DOCUMENT
Xplode Magazine Bolton is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) and we are governed
by a constitution that establishes the objectives and the powers of the organisation.

OBJECTIVES
As stated in our constitution, Xplode are ‘to act as a resource for young people up to the age of
22 living in Bolton by providing advice and assistance and organising programmes of physical,
educational and other activities as a means of:
a) Advancing in life and helping young people by developing their skills, capacities and
capabilities to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible
individuals;
b) Advancing education;
c) Relieving unemployment;
d) Providing recreational and leisure time activity in the interests of social welfare for people
living in the area of beneﬁt who have need by reason of their youth, age, inﬁrmity or disability,
poverty or social and economic circumstances with a view to improving the conditions of life of
such persons.’
We also aim to advance education through the promotion of non-formal educational
programmes for and by young people, working with them to develop their full potential.
These objects were created with extensive consideration of the Charity Commission’s guidance
on public beneﬁt.
Details of services and activities delivered during 2017/18 are set out further in this report.

APPOINTMENT OR RENEWAL OF TRUSTEES
New Trustees of the CIO are elected by existing board members at any point in the year and
there are no restrictions on who can be nominated, however, the Trustees encourage young
people (aged 17-22) to be on the board furthering our ‘by young people, for young people’
culture and ethos. New Trustees are supported through an individual induction process
including details of their responsibilities, Charity Commission publications, our constitution
and they are encouraged to meet Xplode’s volunteers and young people.
All Trustees give their time freely and are reimbursed for ‘out of pocket’ expenses. Trustees are
encouraged to disclose all relevant interests and register them with Xplode’s Chief Executive
and, withdraw from decisions where a conﬂict of interest may arise.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
The Board of Trustees meet every two months and are responsible for the governance of the
organisation as set out in, but not limited to, the constitution. Decisions on the day to day
running of the organisation are taken by the Chief Executive and senior management team.
The board receives regular reports from the Executive. Decisions and matters with signiﬁcant
implication on the organisation are brought to the board. These include
•
•
•
•
•

Policy Development
Organisational Priorities
Service Development
Risk Identiﬁcation (management, mitigation and review)
Brand and Public Relations Development

RISK MANAGEMENT
Xplode Magazine (Bolton) has conducted a review of major risks to which it is exposed and
where appropriate, systems and procedures have been established to mitigate these risks.
Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations within
premises occupied by the charity. These are periodically reviewed by our Health and Safety
ofﬁcer.
Staff are advised of compliance with media law and regulations to minimise any risk with
copyright, libel and slander through regular training.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks are made for all board members, managers and
volunteers who regularly work with children and vulnerable people. Our policy is regularly
reviewed with Bolton Council’s Human Resources Department.
The board does not consider any activities that could be constructed as being harmful or
detrimental to the public however if anyone has any cause for concern, they are to bring it to
the attention of the Chief Executive via Xplode’s Compliments and Complaints procedure.
The organisation has recently taken steps to work with various legal ﬁrms to ensure that
Xplode’s procedures and policies are watertight and to allow the organisation to move forward
with its plans for expansion and growth. As a result, the Board of Trustees last year envisaged
an increase legal and governance costs as various procedures, policies, contracts and
agreements have been checked and written.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Dedication and passion runs through all of Xplode’s stakeholders – we’re part of a family that’s
proud of what we do and we want to make a change, both in ourselves and to our
communities. Xplode places a large emphasis on Youth Social Action, a great way to create a
double beneﬁt for those taking part to those being inﬂuenced by our activities. Xplode is split
into two strands; ‘Magazine’ and ‘Employ’ and this report sets out our key achievements over
the past twelve months.

Xplode, as an organisation, was established as just a magazine; a way for young people to get in
touch with their journalistic skills and express their opinions whilst combatting negative press
coverage and stereotypes of young people. That model evolved into the magazine being
Xplode’s tool for young people to gain skills and experience.
Combining what our volunteers learn at school with the training we offer, our young people
not only write for the magazine, but manage it too - from the handling of ﬁnances to the
conducting of meetings, young people are at the centre of Xplode’s culture and ethos.
Four magazines are produced each year and these printed magazines include a wide range of
articles, from music, fashion and entertainment to more ‘serious’ pieces exploring issues such
as mental health and domestic violence. The health articles are written by young people and
looked over by Bolton Council’s Public Health Department, who ﬁnancially support the
organisation – The Public Health Department saw the huge beneﬁt of peer-to-peer activity and
approached Xplode to assist them with publishing information regarding youth health issues
in an engaging way.
Once designed, the magazines are printed and distributed to all of Bolton’s high schools,
Bolton and Bury colleges and ASDA Stores, youth centres, libraries and other independent
shops across Bolton, Bury and Manchester. Printing articles and having them distributed is a
massive motivational booster for young people, it showcases their work, ampliﬁes their voice
and adds to their personal portfolio.

at Xplode has given me skills that I can take into
“ Volunteering
the real world of work. Having Xplode on my CV has really helped
– Kasey Smith, Volunteer

Not only does the magazine help those involved with creating it, it also beneﬁts our readers,
especially with health and wellbeing content. Combined readership of Xplode’s articles in-print
and online stands at 44,000.

EMPLOY

The issue is simple – far too many young people go to jobs for experience and get turned down
for a lack of it.
Xplode’s volunteers are trained in employability skills from digital recruitment to
‘train-the-trainer’ sessions and they act as ‘employability champions’ delivering sessions to
other young people. The fact that they are volunteers, we are capacity building focusing on
conﬁdence, presentation skills, photography, data collation and impact measurement skills
from the work they do at the training sessions.
Devised in partnership with business and the public sector, we are focusing on the key skills
needed for employment as deﬁned by the CBI. Young people are experiencing elements of job
interviews, CV structuring and group interview in our sessions and they’re even faced with
challenges allowing them to apply learnt information in real-life situations.
The increased competition in the labour market means that the spotlight is on the skills and
aptitudes beyond outstanding results. All our activities are set out in a way that young people
ﬁnd them fun and engaging whilst also making the link between their skills and what
employers are looking for.

We are proud to be the principal employability delivery partner for the National Citizen Service
(NCS) delivered by Bolton Lads and Girls Club. In the interests of developing pathways, we have
committed to training NCS graduates as Employ training facilitators.
2,000 young people across Greater Manchester have already beneﬁtted from our training
garnishing impressive results.
•
•
•
•
•
•

95% of the young people say the workshop helped with their plans for the future
Over half of participants now know where and how to look for jobs
A large percentage (77%) feel more conﬁdent in writing job applications
82% of participants are now feeling better about writing their CVs
84% say they’re better prepared for job interviews
86.9% feel more conﬁdent in themselves following the training.

VOLUNTEERING

Volunteers are the bread and butter to our organisation. In the past 12 months, we have
engaged with 45 incredible volunteers who have given the time, skills and dedication to
improve the lives of others as well as creating beneﬁt for themselves through skills
development. We know that our volunteers beneﬁt massively from our work.

created new friends, found my creative passion in writing
“ I’ve
and now I want to be a journalist

“

– Chloe W

feel a lot more confident and my highlight has been
“ Iinterviewing
famous people!

“

– Mo J

Bolton is in the bottom 5% of the areas of multiple deprivation according to Bolton Council
and 70% of our Bolton-based volunteers are from the less afﬂuent areas of the town.
We do not have a ‘typical’ volunteer as these statistics show:

Volunteers are surveyed regularly on a number of items from happiness to management
expectations:
•
•
•
•
•

100% say their motivation to do more in their communities has increased
100% are proud of the Xplode brand
100% say training is effective
100% would recommend Xplode to friends
100% feel they’ve developed their teambuilding skills

As a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recipient, we are committed to upholding the very
best management of our volunteers, promoting inclusivity, leadership and diversity.

2017-18 RECOGNITION
Xplode Magazine is no stranger to the local press. This year, our CEO was awarded ‘Young
Person of the Year’ at The Bolton News and Bury Times Business Awards, which he rebranded
‘Young People of the Year’. A number of volunteers had the opportunity to attend the
prestigious event.

Other recognition this year came in the form of two letters; one from 10 Downing Street,

I would like to congratulate you on the success of Xplode Magazine, which
is a wonderful example of the positive impact a charity can have on its
local community. It is heartening to hear of your efforts to improve young
peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives through youth volunteering. You shold be proud of your
charityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achievements and the training opportunities you are providing to
so many. I encourage you to remain in contact with officials at the
Department for Culture. Media and Sport to ensure that the right
Goverment support is avaialable to you.

and one from Buckingham Palace.

It was thoughtful of you to keep Her Majesty informed about the recent
achievements of Xplode Magazine and, in return, I have been asked to
send her warm good wishes to you all

EDINBURGH XCHANGE
In December 2017, 12 volunteers were taken on an exchange trip to Edinburgh with the
following objectives:
1. Participants will engage in informal activities to develop their skills.
a. Participation will allow experiential learning alongside other volunteers.
b. Participants will have the opportunity to speak informally with volunteers about their
motivation, dedication, and experiences.
2. Participants will learn about Edinburgh, Scotland’s Capital City.
a. Participants will experience Edinburgh’s cultural uniqueness and how organisations have
had to adapt to be successful in their city.
3. Participants will gain an understanding of setting goals and targets as well as project
planning and management.
a. Participants will assist Xplode Magazine’s Executive Ofﬁcer’s plan the three-year strategy.
b. Participants will creatively assist with the planning of Xplode’s Employ programme.
c. Participants will set out their vision for Xplode’s magazine and volunteering opportunities for
presentation to the Board of Directors.
4. Participants will develop a plan of action to be undertaken once returned to Bolton.
a. Prior to leaving Edinburgh, participants will have completed a synthesis of their learnings
and a plan of action for implementation.

I want to extend my personal thanks for your commitment to young
people in the conurbation; we are lucky to have people so
passionate about the city-region’s youth fulﬁlling its potential and I
would like to invite Xplode to be the Youth Combined Authority’s

“

Ofﬁcial Media Partner, attending its meetings and reporting on its
activities.

POWERFUL MULTI-SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS
Xplode is proud to support organisations and is proud to welcome support from organisations.
We believe forming and maintaining partnerships across the three sectors is important. It is for
this reason that the management team at Xplode have tirelessly worked to form these
relations with organisations with the aim to beneﬁt both parties. Here is a descriptive list of
who we support and who supports us:

Bolton News – The Bolton News has been a long-standing
supporter of Xplode Magazine regularly publishing news
about the organisation from announcements, commentary
on topical items and Xplode-led events.

ASDA – ASDA have kindly offered their Employability
Training programme to our volunteers, where they train
Xplode’s beneﬁciaries in how to write CV’s for retail positions
whilst participants are given the opportunity to work on the
shop ﬂoor.
Octagon Theatre Bolton – As a way of encouraging young
people to take part in the arts, Octagon Theatre Bolton has
been very kind and offered tickets to allow volunteers to
view shows for free and enhance their literacy skills by
reviewing articles for the magazine. We also take part in
informal consultative dialogue on how to increase the
amount of young people visiting the theatre.

Bolton Council’s Public Health Department – This
department has teamed up with Xplode to write articles
about health issues affecting Bolton. Through our pieces, we
aim to improve the health and wellbeing of readers as we
encourage them to take positive actions to help themselves.

The Light Cinema – As the town centre’s only cinema, The
Light has partnered with Xplode Magazine to give young
people the opportunity to be rewarded for their
volunteering. Xplode volunteers are able to watch ﬁlms for
free, in return for a review as part of their article writing
tasks.

Bury College – A number of our volunteers are current and
previous pupils at Bury College. The principal at the college
talks about Xplode being ‘incredibly inspiring’ and he’d ‘love
to help as much as he can’. Bury College support and
promote our work whilst distributing the magazine.

Bolton CVS – Bolton CVS have commissioned Xplode to run
Social Media training for local charities and businesses. We
also use Bolton CVS for Information, Advice and Guidance
on charity law and governance.

Bolton Wanderers Community Trust - We give young
Boltonians the opportunity to develop their media skills
whilst helping the charitable arm of the football club.
Xplode volunteers write articles, ﬁlm events and work on the
social media for the Trust for media opportunity rewards.

HM Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester – Mr Warren
Smith JP, Her Majesty’s representative in Greater
Manchester enjoys informal links with Xplode Magazine and
offers his full support in any matters. Our CEO and Warren
meet regularly to discuss performance and support options.

Thomson Reuters Foundation – The foundation acts to
promote socio-economic progress and the rule of law
worldwide. Through their TrustLaw programme, Thomson
Reuters have been a fantastic partner in brokering pro bono
legal support.

Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development –
Xplode Magazine have worked with the CIPD to offer them a
focus group for their Steps Ahead mentoring programme. In
return, the CIPD have delivered employability training to our
volunteers enabling them to train other young people.

Step up to Serve – Xplode have a proud link with HRH The
Prince of Wales’ Step up to Serve programme. Our CEO is a
Trustee of the organisation aiming to encourage one million
more young people to get involved in youth social action by
2020. Xplode supports this aim by showcasing the #iwill
ambassadors and a pledging to champion social action.

Mosaic – Xplode have been long-standing partners of The
Princes Trust’s Mosaic Network. Having provided the
programme for their annual Enterprise Challenge and
judging regional ﬁnals, Xplode are proud to be associated
with such a a magniﬁcent charity.

Bolton Lads and Girls Club – BLGC are instrumental to
Xplode’s Employ programme – they are the delivery partner
for National Citizen Service and Xplode train approximately
1,000 of their participants annually.

HM Government – Xplode has worked closely with the
Ofﬁce for Civil Society sitting under the Cabinet Ofﬁce. The
Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson MP has been a fantastic
supporter of Xplode’s work and issued a video message at
our ﬁfth birthday celebrations commending our plans to
train 10,000 young Greater Mancunian’s.

The Growth Company – Working with The Growth Company,
Xplode has been able to secure work experience students
from some of the most deprived areas in Greater
Manchester as well as those from more afﬂuent
backgrounds. We also asssit their in-school employability
programmes.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham – Before
becoming Mayor, Andy visited Xplode to be quizzed on his
manifesto as part of our outreach work to make politics
accessible to young people, and commended our work.
Since becoming Mayor, Andy has said: “Xplode is brilliant in
terms of the opportunities they are giving to young people.
We want to see a lot more of that over Greater Manchester.”

Members of Parliament – Xplode Magazine continually
works with various Members of Parliament to ensure Youth
Social Action and Volunteerism is given the push it needs
locally and nationally.

Financial review
We have completed a Receipts and Payments Accounts as our governing document does not
require accruals accounts. We have had our accounts examined independently as per Charity
Commission CIO guidelines.

RESERVES POLICY
The Board of Trustees’ examination of the charity’s need for reserves concludes that in order to
allow the protection of current activities and the meeting of day-to-day responsibilities a sum
is needed.
In view of the commitment made to service users, the optimum level of free reserves would be
running costs for 3 months including magazine print. In the event of reserves needed to be
used, Xplode can bow out gracefully with a ﬁnal publication. Unrestricted funds are showing
signs of declination and the charity is actively seeking new sources of income generation so
that we can continue to provide a broad range of services to meet the needs of young people,
therefore the Board of Trustees agree to start generating income by way of:
a) Selling advertisement in the magazine and online at xplodemag.co.uk
b) Selling the employability training sessions outside of Greater Manchester
The Trustees consider that funds of £6,500 should be set aside for reserves.

Statement of trustees’
responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the ﬁnancial statements for each ﬁnancial
year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity. In preparing these
reports, the Trustees are required to:
• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed;
• Prepare the ﬁnancial accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to
presume that the charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are also responsible for ensuring that the charity has appropriate systems of
internal control across the organisation. They are responsible for keeping proper accounting
records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy, at the time, the ﬁnancial position of the
charity and enable them to ensure that the ﬁnancial statements follow best practice. They are
further responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable
steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute
reassurance against material misstatement of loss. Internal control processes implemented by
the Trustees include:
•
•
•
•
•

Agreement of policy and service development;
An annual budget approved by the Trustees;
Regular consideration by the Trustees of ﬁnancial results;
Delegation of authority to appropriate levels of management;
Identiﬁcation and management of risk.

Independent
examiner’s report on
the accounts
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year
ended 6th April 2018 which are set out on pages 18 and 19.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT
As the charity’s trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance
with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of
the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given
by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT
I have completed my examination. I conﬁrm that no material matters have come to my
attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material
respect:
1. Accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the
Act; or
2. The accounts do not accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination
to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of
the accounts to be reached.